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India·Pakistan·Human Rights

India reverses textbook censorship of ancient 'Dancing Girl' sculpture after outcry

Wednesday, 17 June 2026, 06:24 · 1 min read

India's National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has reversed its decision to digitally obscure the torso of the iconic "Dancing Girl" bronze figurine in a newly issued school textbook, following widespread condemnation from historians and educators. The sculpture — a 2,600-year-old artefact from Mohenjo-daro (a major site of the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation in present-day Pakistan) — had appeared in Indian curricula for decades without alteration, making the unexplained modification all the more striking. NCERT director Dinesh Saklani confirmed the original image would be restored in both digital and future print editions, though the body has offered no official explanation for why the censorship was introduced in the first place.

Sources
BBC World'Dancing girl's' bare torso restored in Indian textbook after backlash ↗︎
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